True Detective strode into the ceremony with 12 nominations, but HBO’s noir-ish crime thriller limped away with just one award, with Cary Fukunaga picking up best directing, drama series. It was a surprisingly poor showing for this TV phenomenon, which is so buzzy right now that even the most speculative of casting tidbits inspires breathless excitement from fans (and one of the finest hashtags of 2014). So why did the Emmy judges leave it out in the cold?

It was nominated in the wrong category

In an unusual move, the eight-part story competed for the title of Drama series, rather than Miniseries, which would have acknowledged its standalone story arc. (Here’s how the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences defines a miniseries: “A miniseries is based on a single theme or story line, which is resolved within the piece. In a single awards year, all of the parts must be presented under the same title and have continuity of production supervision.”) Frankly, the Miniseries category was weaker, with American Horror Story: Coven, Bonnie & Clyde, Luther, Treme and The White Queen rightly losing out to Fargo. It would have had a fight on its hands with Fargo, but ultimately True Detective would have had the edge.

It probably split the vote

More category politics: the Drama series slot was full of the kind of shows that people who love television regularly cite as examples of the best TV of all time, and for some reason, also included Downton Abbey. In competing here, True Detective was up against House of Cards (which defined a new way of watching TV), Mad Men (not its finest season but still far superior to almost everything else out there), Game of Thrones (grand, gripping, ambitious and hugely popular) and winner Breaking Bad. Though the shows are thematically diverse, they’re essentially all “golden age of television” frontrunners, and it’s a ridiculously tough call to make.

This was Breaking Bad’s victory lap

Really, this was the clincher. The Academy rewarded Breaking Bad in almost every way that it could, with five awards going to its final season, part two: Aaron Paul for Supporting actor, drama series; Anna Gunn for Supporting actress, drama series; Moira Walley-Beckett for Writing, drama series; Bryan Cranston for Actor, drama series, and of course the big one, Drama series. The meth drama was cashing in on six years and five seasons’ worth of momentum, while True Detective is very much in its infancy, with only a single season to its name. Plus, in terms of endings, Breaking Bad bowed out with a fine and clear conclusion, while for many, True Detective’s final episode was its weakest. Perhaps for season two, writer/creator Nick Pizzolatto might consider adding the words, “Yeah, bitch!” to the script.